Most big-cap stocks and your favorite tech stocks may be rallying right now, but the market is still walking a tightrope this year as inflation is stickier than expected and the recent round of government layoffs could end up lifting unemployment.

Investing in the stock market is an excellent way to build long-term wealth. One tried-and-true approach to generating passive income from your investments is dividend investing. A comprehensive study conducted by Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds found that over 50 years (ending in 2023),

Investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is one of the easiest ways to start generating passive income. You don't have to manage a portfolio of stocks. Instead, you can buy a few diversified funds and just sit back and watch the income passively flow into your portfolio.

These five top stocks with monthly dividends seem like great ideas for passive income-oriented investors seeking upside appreciation.

You can buy a bunch of stocks that pay quarterly dividends and set it up in such a way that you get monthly dividends. For instance, you can buy one stock that pays in January, another stock that pays in February,

Another 26% of its earnings are from fee-based contracts. It gets paid a fixed fee on the volumes that flow through its midstream network. These volumes are highly predictable, with over 40% tied to very stable refined-product cash flows. The remaining 5% of its earnings are unhedged, meaning they have volume and price exposure.

These four high-yielding Dividend Aristocrats look like magnificent ideas for passive income investors in 2025.